The Bavarian bees collected significantly more honey this year. They were particularly busy in the north of the Free State.
Mayen/Munich (dpa/lby) - The Bavarian honey harvest is better this year. On average, the beekeepers in the Free State threw 29.1 kilos of honey per colony, as the specialist center bees and beekeeping announced on dpa request. That's 6 kilos more than a year ago when it rained a lot.
However, in 2022 Bavaria will also be well below the national average of 37.2 kilos. Rain in June slowed down the bees in parts of Bavaria, explained center manager Christoph Otten. In principle, however, it is not unusual for the yields in Bavaria to be below the national average.
There were some clear differences within the Free State. While Lower and Upper Franconia were above the national average with 39.3 and 38.5 kilos, the Swabian beekeepers were able to harvest an average of 23 kilos per hive. In Middle Franconia it was 25.2, in Lower Bavaria 27.3, in Upper Bavaria 28.2 and in the Upper Palatinate 28.5 kilos.
The price range is also wide: the Munich area is also the most expensive nationwide at EUR 7.66 for a jar of 500 grams of German blossom honey. Parts of Upper and Lower Franconia, on the other hand, are among the cheapest in Germany with prices between 5.42 and 5.46 euros per glass.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there were around 41,000 beekeepers and 258,000 colonies in Bavaria in 2020. That is about a quarter of the total German figures. It is estimated that a quarter of the honey consumed in Germany comes from the Federal Republic, the rest from countries such as Ukraine, Mexico or Argentina.
